Pictures from Refuge Ranch

I still haven't figured out how I'm going to share about the medical missions crusades and which pictures I'm going to pick, but I wanted to upload a few pics from around the ranch before Ashleigh and I leave tomorrow.

This is a beautiful, bustling place and I love it here. Kids are everywhere but it seems to flow pretty smoothly with the help of the cook Rosa and Magda, who also lives here to assist with the daily ins-and-outs of the ranch. Each of the children are so precious and I have loved, LOVED finally getting to know them after Ashleigh has told me about them for two years.

The crusade was a lot of work and ministering, but back here at the ranch it's slower paced for me and I've felt almost guilty with how leisurely it's been. But it's been nice. It's been REALLY restful, and such a welcome change of pace from the past few months. Er... year. I wander around playing with the kids, bugging Ashleigh while she's trying to pack, exploring the ranch, swinging from a hammock under a lime tree, petting the kittens, reading my Bible from a sunny porch overlooking a valley and the mountains beyond... hard life, this. I think I could fall for it.

In short, I suppose I've been blessed and cursed with the ability to fall in love with every new and different place I stay. The only reason it's a curse is because... well... ya have to leave, eventually. Thirteen days just wasn't quite long enough to be in Mexico but, how very grateful I am for every moment, every person I met, every Spanish word I learned, every new food I tasted (okay well no need to be melodramatic. Almost every new food I tasted...), and every moment of learning new and fascinating things about this culture. I'm pretty sure I'll be back. And maybe next time Ashleigh and I will be bringing some of you with us on a crusade!? :)

So here are some pics!

PastorsTacos: really, really, really delicious.

A quick word about the stray dogs in Mexico. First, there are WAY too many of them. It's rediculous. But, be that as it may, you should not disparage a person (me, for instance,) who has a soft spot for a random starving canine and chooses to feed it some of her leftovers at the sidewalk restaurant. It wasn't HER choice to be born in a spayless-neuterless country now, was it? Look at that face. And remember.... I made that animal's day with my leftover tortilla and my sweet talkin'. Seriously though, this is a sad place for an animal lover to visit because all of the starving strays really do break your heart. Supposedly 7 dogs for every person here.

Today we all took a picnic lunch to a hacienda. The old ruins of a Spanish castle from before the Mexican revolution. It was SO awesome! So beautiful! We played hide-and-seek in the ruins. And I made up a story about Rosalita, the beautiful daughter of the Spanish castle lord, and her forbidden love for Antonio, one of the Mexican slaves on the estate.

This was the entrance to Rosalita's room.

(...And I thought there was a never ending load of laundry at Carlee's house!?)

Diana reading to a few of the little guys

Joce` and I swimming! Joce` is a precious little gal who lived with her mom (Victor's sister) here at the ranch until her mom died suddenly last year. Victor and Julie have adopted her as their daughter.

Chicken fight! (...Angie and I won but I'm not rubbing that in or anything.)

Beatiful Martita!!

Victor insisted that Ashleigh teach him how to make granola before she leaves, because everyone loves it so much. :) I'm praying for Ashleigh and the dear people here as she leaves. Tomorrow is going to be a very emotional day for everyone. They'll feel lost without her for a while, and I'm sure vice-versa is true too.